Emergency Management Office

Mission

The mission of the Athens-Clarke County Office of Emergency Management (OEM) is to provide a comprehensive and aggressive all-hazards approach to homeland security and disaster initiatives, mitigation, preparedness, response, recovery, and special events. The purpose of our mission is to protect life and property and to prevent and/or reduce the negative impact of natural and man-made events in Athens-Clarke County.

Response

When disaster strikes, sometimes the destruction is so severe that the county’s responders are overwhelmed. That is when OEM steps in to help and may ask the governor to declare a state of emergency in order to make state resources available to the afflicted area.

Recovery

It can take years for a community to recover from a disaster, and OEM is there every step of the way. Whether coordinating clean-up efforts, educating victims about available relief programs, distributing disaster relief funds, or providing communities with the tools to identify public structures in areas that are at risk of damage, OEM is ready to address the consequences of disaster and reduce future risk.